Tag: Matthew 4

Standing or Falling

Genesis 13-14, Proverbs 8, Matthew 4

Devotion by Marcia Railton (IN)

Smooth, delicious chocolate, sometimes with crunchy nuts or gooey caramel (instead of the nutritious salad fixings abandoned in my fridge). Or really sugar in just about any form.

A “well-deserved” social media break, just for a few minutes, that turns into much longer.

On-line shopping to find just the right pair of shoes for a trip, or maybe I need pants, or what about that sweater, would that color look good on me?

Those were three temptations I caved in to just last night when I was supposed to be writing this devotion! Yikes! When my sleepy husband asked why I was so late in getting to bed, I said something like I had been busy falling into temptation. No, I hadn’t spent the late night hours murdering my neighbor, stealing from the bank on the corner, or bowing down to carved idols. But, I had said ‘Yes’ to my own selfish, meaningless, unhealthy pursuits instead of being and doing what God most desired for me – what was best for me.

Perhaps, I should not be the one writing the devotion today. I am obviously not a specialist in standing up to temptation. I need an example to follow, I need to learn from a master – Ah, yes, thank God, He DID indeed provide the perfect example who longs to be my master. He gave us His human Son Jesus. And right after the baptism of Jesus, and right before Jesus begins his years of ministry, God’s Holy Spirit led Jesus, God’s own beloved, pleasing Son, into the wilderness where he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights.

As we are looking for clues on how Jesus faced temptation so successfully, there’s a couple great ones right there. Jesus was already open to and actively being led by the Spirit. What did God’s spirit want for him? That’s what He wanted too, even when it meant willingly going into a difficult, sometimes even dangerous space.

Compare Jesus’ location and circumstance with Adam and Eve’s when they were also confronted with choices to make. The first son of God was surrounded with God’s bounty and beauty and provision in the spectacular garden. Good, healthy, God-honoring fruit literally surrounded them when they instead listened to the deception of the serpent and chose to eat of the tree that God had already clearly said “No” to. Jesus didn’t use his harsh surroundings or difficult circumstances as an excuse to be weak. Instead, he found strength in using that time to fast and pray and draw closer to God which indeed made him even stronger and better prepared to face his adversary. Don’t get so comfortable in your pleasant surroundings that you become weak and don’t recognize temptation for what it is. Don’t fear the time spent in the harsh wilderness, but use the opportunity to cling closer and closer to what really matters – the God who is always there.

After the 40 days of fasting Jesus gives us the next big answer of how he faced each one of Satan’s three temptations in the wilderness – with the very words of God His Father, each and every time. In fact, the first Scripture Jesus quotes to Satan are strong words about the sustaining power from the words of God, and our need for God’s word, from the book of Deuteronomy: “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4) If we try to face temptation without the power of God’s word we will be weak. Matthew 4:4 is a great verse for me to remember today when I sit down to work on tomorrow’s devotion! Here’s a few more:

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. – Hebrews 4:12

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. – Ephesians 6:14-17

God’s word: read it, learn it, use it – and live (better and stronger today and also for eternity).

God’s word: neglect it, forget it, try to do life your own way – and die (but first, you will likely waste a lot of time, have a lot of self-made sorrow, and miss out on doing God’s will).

His Words are not just for gaining knowledge, they are for fighting temptation, finding truth, for making strong and giving life. Don’t miss out!

Let’s review what we have seen from Jesus about successfully facing temptation: Jesus was willing to be led by the Spirit. He used his time in the wilderness well. He fasted and drew closer to God. He recognized Satan for who he was. He discerned the lies and empty promises of the deceiver and actively chose what God said and promised instead. He wanted God’s will, not his own. He knew God’s Word. He used God’s Word as a sword to do battle against untruth, temptations and the tempter. He said, “Away with you Satan!” And he was victorious!

What about you? Do you know what temptations you face regularly? What do you crave? What do you covet? What are you jealous of? What leads you astray? What do you feel guilty about? Where do you lose self-control? What good do you neglect and why? How do you waste time? What do you say ‘Yes’ to that God wanted you to say ‘No” to? And, what do you say ‘No’ to that God wanted you to say ‘Yes’ to? What is Satan whispering in your ear or in your heart? What do you worship (with your time, money, devotion, or decisions)?

Realize you have choices, decisions to make. Big ones and little ones. It’s not just about not murdering your neighbor and not bowing down to carved idols. It’s also about how you treat the gift of the miraculous body God gave you. It’s about how you choose to spend the gift of the time God gives you. It’s about how you treat the people God surrounds you with. It’s about if you choose what you want, or what God wants.

And Satan (as well as the world and marketers today) can make the bad choice, or the selfish one, or the unhealthy one, look pretty good, that’s what makes it tempting. If it looked like the garbage it is, we would gladly turn from it. Don’t be fooled by the stone that looks like bread, the impressive view, and Satan’s promises.

God gives the perfect example of His Son. Follow that example – not mine.

God gives His Word, the Scriptures – the sword to do battle with the tempter. It worked for Jesus. I need to use it better!

God gives knowledge, wisdom and discernment – ask for it and use it.

God gives the spirit of self-control – that’s the one I want.

God gives forgiveness and new beginnings.

Prayer

Dear God – I am sorry. Please forgive me of the many times I fall to temptation. Help me do better, Lord God. Help me follow the example of your Son when I am in the wilderness and also when I am in the garden. Help me go where Your Spirit is leading. Help me forsake what I want and choose instead what You want, which is indeed the best for me. Help me see garbage for what it is, and turn from it to you and your gifts, again and again. I ask for wisdom and discernment to see what is from You and what are deceptions from the deceiver. Help me use your Word well to be strong against temptation. Thank you for your Word, your forgiveness, love and mercy and a new day to work at doing Your will better. Help me use all that you give me to stand strong against temptation. Thank you for the example and sacrifice of your Son Jesus. In his name we pray to You the Almighty. Amen.

Reflection Questions

  1. Compare and contrast when Satan came to the garden and when he came to the wilderness? What similarities do you see? What differences? Is Satan still making visits? What does it look like?
  2. Consider the paragraph of questions regarding what are temptations for you. What do you see about your own temptations? What temptations do you sometimes fall to?
  3. Eating chocolate isn’t always a sin or temptation is it? But is it sometimes? When? Why? What makes the difference?
  4. What scriptures can you find (and put in your home and in your heart) to help you face your temptations better armed with the Sword of the Spirit?
  5. Have you ever tried fasting when facing a particularly difficult time of temptation?
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Crouching at Your Door

Old Testament: Genesis 4

Poetry: Psalm 1

New Testament: Matthew 4

The most formidable opponent to our righteousness is the person reflected in the image of a mirror. Being solely tempted is not sin in itself, but it means that we will soon enter the ring or octagon for a fight.  The attack will come at the points where we are weakest.  Our pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, anger, or laziness are soon exposed and without the proper guidance by the words of God, we will soon leave ourselves fully exposed to a finishing move.  No matter where the dragging and enticing draw from, submission to temptation to serve ourselves rather than submitting to our Heavenly Father’s will, leads down the slippery slope away from the Kingdom of God.

“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” – James 1:13-15

“If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” – Genesis 4:7

We see this pattern unfold in Genesis 4 when Cain is issued a warning directly by God to stop jealousy in its path.  God states that “sin is lurking at the door.” By giving temptation a place to live, Cain and each one of us are inviting sin to be the next resident. What started as an unchecked emotion, turned into temptation, which led Cain to selfishly taking the life of his brother.  Temptation must be addressed and combatted, otherwise we will find ourselves on a path, either through deliberate action or indecision, that leads us far away from the Will of God.


“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.” – Hebrews 4:14-16

Jesus, as always, provides our example of dealing with temptation because he was tested in every measure. Specifically in Matthew 4, Jesus is tested in the desires of his flesh, the integrity of his faith, and his pride. Jesus meets each one of these temptations head on, attacking them with words of his Father.  In doing this, he removes himself from temptation by placing himself closer to God Almighty.  By remaining perfect and being raised to life, He now sits at the right hand of God understanding our struggles and weakness.  Christ intercedes on our behalf and beckons us to remember that we have the advantage that Cain did not: we do not have to go through it alone.

The Apostle Peter is no stranger to succumbing , and in all reality, he is the disciple with whom we most identify. His advice to those scattered about Asia Minor in his first letter is to remain watchful and alert for the threat that may approach us. He likens our Adversary to a lion, crouching in the savannah, waiting for our guard to be down and becoming the next prey devoured. We have to be ready for the attack, by remaining sober-minded even in the duress of physical, spiritual, or mental stress. We do this best by filling our hearts with the words of God and repeating them time and again, so temptation is at bay, and when it comes, like Jesus, we are ready to strike it down with the Sword of the Spirit.

-Aaron Winner

Reflection Questions

  1. There is a lot to think about in the following sentence: “Temptation must be addressed and combatted, otherwise we will find ourselves on a path, either through deliberate action or indecision, that leads us far away from the Will of God.” What examples can you think of from your own life? 
  2. What temptations do you need to address now? 
  3. With what 3-5 specific ways can you combat this temptation?
  4. What roles can God’s Word and God’s Son play in your spiritual battle against sin?
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Getting Ready for the Storm

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 5 & 6

Psalm Reading: Psalm 5

New Testament Reading: Matthew 4

In some circles, to say you don’t like the beach is blasphemy.  What?!?! You don’t like the sea? the sun? the sound? the sand?  I do. I like them all individually, but something about the collection of all those things alongside the umbrella, towels, bathing suits, etc. just isn’t my thing. Sorry if I have offended you.  Don’t worry, more offense to come.  This is why I have never understood why people want to live along the coast, especially in the Southeast United States. Year after year, hurricanes pound the Gulf and Atlantic coastline one after another.  The scenes of destruction are played over and over again, with very few structures standing after the wind blows, the rains come down, and the surge amasses. However, in the age of technology, there is most certainly time to prepare for the storm. Days and sometimes weeks out, the predictions come and the readying begins. The evacuation notices go out, priorities are readjusted, the search is on for the supplies needed, windows and doors are boarded shut, and then you must wait. None of these actions stop the storm from coming, but they will assure you will see the other side of it.

Unfortunately, not every challenging life circumstance comes with an evacuation warning, but there are sometimes when we can anticipate the storm. It may be a move to college, rearing your children through their teens, a long battle with an illness, or even some pleasant “storms” like marriage and the welcoming of an infant into the world.  When we know the season is coming, whether it is forty days or a hundred years away, the examples of Jesus Christ and Noah tell us we should prepare for the moment we are called to.  There may be testing, trials, temptation, frustration, and outright rejection, but we can ready ourselves with the tool God has called, the word of God, an ark, or a cross for whatever is in the forecast.

“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” – Matthew 4:4

“Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” – Genesis 6:22

In Matthew 4, Jesus takes a getaway to catch some sun and put his feet in the sand, but it is far from a vacation. He is led to the desert by the Holy Spirit to prepare for His ministry.  He denies himself food and water, to be focused solely on God. The spiritual discipline of fasting can take many forms, but it is traditionally done with the things we cannot live without: food and drink. Imagine for a moment if you committed to fasting for a single day. If you found a place physically removed from your demands, how much time could you spend focused on preparing yourself for God’s calling? Depending on how much you scan your pantry, the amount of food prep involved, and how well you chew, it is possible to gain a couple of hours.  Where else could you gain a similar amount of time? Could you lock away your phone, remote, or computer for a day and read scripture during your unwinding time? Could you deny yourself an hour or two of sleep once a week to get up and pray? While literally impossible to make every day a fasting day, it is the practice of someone who is preparing to weather whatever spiritual or physical battle is coming their way. There is no doubt that the rain is coming for you. The flood is rising to meet you.  Are you putting in your hours on the boat? Are you making time to fill your mind with the Word of God? If not, adjust your priority, and get rid of even physical necessity. Reinforce all the openings with His Word. Make sure to make God the first thought or the only thought through fasting sooner rather than later and frequent rather than seldom. And the house on the Rock will stand firm against any squall long after the storm subsides.

“The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.” Matthew 7:25

-Aaron Winner

Reflection Questions

  1. Who did the tempter recognize Jesus as? What three things did he tempt Jesus with? How did Jesus respond each time? How do you respond to your temptations?
  2. How did Jesus prepare for the storm? (Matt 4:2,4) How have you previously prepared for storms (if at all)? How can you try the Jesus method?
  3. What are some similarities, and differences, between Jesus and Noah: their characteristics, their focus, the world around them, the task before them, etc…
  4. What do we learn about the God of Jesus and Noah? Is He interested in more than making you happy and comfortable (removing storms)? How does He provide and empower you to weather the storms?
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When Temptation Comes

Matthew 4

matthew 4 1

More than we would like to admit, we struggle with temptation.  No matter how great our will or sense of purpose in our life, it always seems to find a way to slither into our lives and rear its ugly head.  Ironically, we are caught most off guard and unaware, not when we are in the midst of a struggle with sin or a desperate time, but when things are at their best.  One minute we are walking close to God, doing his will, connected to His Spirit, loving His word, sharing his Gospel, and the next we are faced with an idea (James 1:13-14).  An awful idea. A wonderfully awful idea that will feed our selfishness, our human condition.

In Matthew 4, today’s reading, Jesus is led by the Spirit to the desert.  God, being the great storyteller he is, takes Jesus to the ultimate contrast of Eden, where the groans of nature longing for restoration can be most heard (Rom 8:22).  A setting that is far away from paradise, an allegory of the state of mankind, filled with the different, yet same challenge – temptation. Now, there are theological hairs you can split as you read this message today. Don’t do that. Fix your eyes on Jesus.

Jesus’s  triumph begs the question, “How did He overcome temptation?”  Well, He was the Son of God, right? This is true, but an error in our thinking if we think this is the sole reason that Jesus wins the days.  He is the Son of God, but he faced temptation, “just as we are”, and did not sin (Heb 4:15). You might say, “He obviously had a special ability to resist.”  You are right. It is the same special ability we have access to: The Holy Spirit. God may take us to the desert to see what our faith is made of, but He will not give us something we can’t handle, and will actually empower us if we seek Him in that moment (1 Cor 10:13).

But careful. Careful we must be because when we are in the desert it is easy to see what is coming.   We might feel as though we have plunged a dagger into the heart of temptation, but we have not put it to rest.  We must remember, we are human. No matter how willing our spirit is to continue on day after day in the will of God, our flesh is weak (Matt 26:40-43).  We crave food. We seek power. We want to be known. Our eyes, the lamp into our soul (Matt 6:22-24), see a way we can instantly fulfill the desires that will be made complete by God and chases after them in selfish, fleeting moments.  Unfortunately, this often comes on the day we leave our armor at home, catching us off guard, not ready to do spiritual battle.

Deut 8 3Looking to Jesus, how can we be ready to do battle with temptation?  First, he knew the word of God. It is how He responds not only to the temptation, but even when the word of God is seemingly being used against Him.  How can you know the will of God? It is as ironically simple as losing weight: diet and exercise. Consume the right thing, His word, and practice it daily, so you will be spiritual healthy.  Next, do God’s business. Know that temptation can come at any moment, but comes easier when we are idle (Prov 16:27-29). Keep your eyes on God and your hands and feet busy to his work. Like the old adage, “if you’re going through hell, just keep going,”  Jesus faced the temptation, but immediately moves onto His ministry. Temptation IS NOT sin. No guilt required; pick up and move on. Finally, be on guard. Relapse can setback or even kill your spiritual life. Removing unnecessary temptation from our lives is a must.  Even if we are in the word every day, engaging in spiritual disciplines, or deeply involved in a ministry, at the very height of our endeavors, it only takes a moment to go back to sin and fall harder and faster than we ever did (the very nature of relapse). If you can’t hang out with your friends without getting drunk, then don’t hang out with them.  If you can’t be on the internet without looking at inappropriate sites, then don’t get on it. If you can’t use social media without bridling your tongue and speaking in love, then stop. Jesus uses hyperbole to illustrate the practical advice when he states, “it is better to cut your hand off” or “pluck your eye out” (Matt 5:29, 30) than to be lost to sin, and ultimately the kingdom of God.

It is imperative you know there is a way to overcome temptation, no matter how great.  We have access to the Father, power through His Holy Spirit, and our eyes on Jesus Christ not only as our example, but our mediator when we fall short. He speaks to the Father because Jesus knows what it is like, and encourages us to not give in or give up.  Study. Do. Guard. Repeat. Temptation may come, but sin will no longer find a foothold in you.

-Aaron Winner